This blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

segmented turning at ESSA

Today the Clear Spring School wood shop continues to be used by the Eureka Springs School of the Arts for a segmented turning class with Delbert Dowdy. In the photo at left, Delbert is gluing a small ring of wood using tape to hold the parts in alignment just as I do with box making.

A couple days ago I mentioned a post about narrative based on Jerome Bruner's discussion of narrative in one of his books. One point of distinction is that while Bruner did not recognize the significance of non-verbal narrative, I do. To fail to understand the narrative significance of art is to miss one of its important points.

My post on narrative continues to be a favorite among blog readers, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, many of the readers are from the Philippines. Now, why would that be? perhaps some professor at a university has told his students, "read this."

On the other hand, there is a close relationship between narrative and the true meaning of art. We tend to think of narrative as being a matter of written and spoken word. That limited perspective marginalizes the voices and stories of creative peoples placing greater value on the things that can be published in books over those things which take personal attention to create.

The internet is leveling the verbal playing field giving all a voice in written words that might be compelled to demand it. But wwe must be careful not to neglect other forms of narrative for they are what give us things to write in the first place. The post to which I refer is 3 characteristics of narrative.

While the CSS shop is being used by Delbert's class, I am packing and preparing for my classes with the Kansas City Woodworkers Guild on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My evening presentation will be on Wednesday night, 7 PM at 3189 Mercier St. Kansas City, MO. I'll be presenting on the Wisdom of the Hands.

About Me

I have been a self-employed woodworker in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1976. I live with my wife Jean on a wooded hillside overlooking our beautiful historic community.
In addition to work in my wood shop, I teach children at the Clear Spring School in a program called "The Wisdom of the Hands." My eighth book "Beautiful Boxes, Design and Technique" was published by Taunton Press in September 2014. I also write for Fine Woodworking and other woodworking magazines.
My resume can be downloaded at
www.dougstowe.com/resume.doc